Gas springs are often used in applications that reduce the forces required to move an object, such as doors or panels which rotate about a horizontal axis when raised and would otherwise require a lifting force due to gravity acting on the door or panel. Gas springs contain a pressurized gas acting on a piston positioned inside of the housing of the gas spring. A rod connected to the piston variably extends exterior of the housing in response to the force generated by the pressurized gas against the piston. An amount of oil is contained within the housing between the piston and the end of the housing through which the rod extends to help maintain a seal between the rod and the housing to prevent escape of the pressurized gas. However, in order to maintain the seal, it is a generally accepted practice to utilize the gas spring in a “rod-down” position, in order for the seal to remain in contact with the oil to maintain the seal. Fully damped gas springs containing significantly more oil may be used to address this issue, but are significantly more costly.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to have an inexpensive gas spring that could be mounted in any orientation, while maintaining the seal in contact with oil.